Star Party

North Texas Skywatch Star Party 2015

The annual North Texas Skywatch Star Party has been scheduled for Saturday evening October 10, 2015 at Lake Mineral Wells State Park near Mineral Wells, TX.

NTSW Star Party 2014
NTSW Star Party 2014

This is a great opportunity for new star gazers to get out under a dark sky and look at numerous fascinating astronomical objects through various types of telescopes. In addition it provides a great chance for those trying to decide what type and size of telescope they want to buy the same chance to actually get up close and personal with telescopes and ask questions of the owners.

Mark your calendars and join the fun! Whether you are just starting out in the hobby or an old pro it’s good to get out under the stars and enjoy a night of star gazing and telescopic observation. See you there.

 

Spacecraft

Send Your Name on the InSight Mars Lander

In March 2016 NASA’s InSight Mars lander is scheduled to blast off. “InSight: short for (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a NASA Discovery Program mission that will place a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior.

The solar arrays on NASA's InSight lander are deployed in this test inside a clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.
The solar arrays on NASA’s InSight lander are deployed in this test inside a clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

 

InSight will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in March 2016 and land on Mars Sept. 28, 2016.

Mars enthusiasts around the world can participate in NASA’s journey to Mars by adding their names to a silicon microchip headed to the Red Planet aboard NASA’s InSight Mars lander.

“Our next step in the journey to Mars is another fantastic mission to the surface,” said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By participating in this opportunity to send your name aboard InSight to the Red Planet, you’re showing that you’re part of that journey and the future of space exploration.”

Submissions will be accepted until Sept. 8. To send your name to Mars aboard InSight, go to:

http://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/insight/

 

Dwarf Planet, Spacecraft

New Horizons @ Pluto

Are you ready for the Plutonian system? After more than nine years in route the New Horizons spacecraft will be arriving at Pluto and it’s moons on July 14, 2015. The excitement is building for this historic occasion and the secrets unlocked by New Horizons will surely prove remarkable. At this writing we are 20 days away!

New Horizons Spacecraft and instruments.

The Spacecraft instruments will be searching for answers such as: what Pluto’s atmosphere is made of, how the planet itself behaves, what the surface of Pluto looks like and how the solar wind interacts with Pluto’s atmosphere?

Continue reading New Horizons @ Pluto →

Dwarf Planet, Spacecraft

Ceres in Sight! Dawn Approaches Dwarf Planet

The largest object located in the main asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) is the dwarf planet named Ceres.  At 590 miles across and with it’s spherical shape Ceres was once referred to as a planet. It’s probably the planet you’ve never heard of and over time it was demoted to asteroid status until 2006 when it was properly branded a “dwarf planet” by the IAU. This mysterious and elusive world was discovered in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi, an Italian Catholic priest, mathematician, and astronomer.

Continue reading Ceres in Sight! Dawn Approaches Dwarf Planet →

Planets, Transit

A Triple Shadow Transit on Jupiter

Jupiter’s four large moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) are hard to miss, and a favorite telescopic target of backyard observers. They are commonly referred to as the Galilean Moon’s due to the fact that they were discovered by Galileo Galilei over 400 years ago.

It just so happens that on the night of January 23-24th (Friday night into Saturday morning) these four large moons will be putting on a must see show. A triple shadow transit!

The video above from NASA outlines that transits and events as they unfold on the night of January 23rd.  I have listed them below giving the Central Standard times.

Continue reading A Triple Shadow Transit on Jupiter →

Comets

A Winter Comet to Watch

Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2, is heading our way out of deep space and gliding up out of the southern sky. Estimates have it brightening to 5th magnitude by late December through much of January as it climbs into excellent viewing position for those in the northern hemisphere. This means a naked-eye comet could be visible this winter.

Continue reading A Winter Comet to Watch →

Eclipse, SAP Site

Images of Partial Solar Eclipse Posted on SAP

I’ve posted a series of images taken of the partial solar eclipse of 10/23/2014 on the site. You’ll find them under Astrophotography > Eclipses. I used a 90mm Meade ETX equipped with a solar filter and Nikon D60 to shoot these images.

PSE 10-23-2014
Partial Solar Eclipse – October 23, 2014
Eclipse

Partial Solar Eclipse Visible On October 23rd

Thursday, October 23, 2014 there will be a partial solar eclipse visible for much of North America including the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. A partial solar eclipse involves the Moon covering up only part of the Sun as seen from your location. As the central part of the Moon’s shadow (umbra) misses the Earth during a partial solar eclipse, there are no other locations on Earth where the Sun appears completely covered during this event.

Maximum Eclipse as seen from Fort Worth, Texas
Maximum Eclipse as seen from Fort Worth, Texas

This will be a late afternoon event for us here in DFW. In fact the sun will set during the partial eclipse. Here are some important eclipse milestones for the DFW area on October 23, 2014.

Continue reading Partial Solar Eclipse Visible On October 23rd →

Eclipse, Moon

Total Lunar Eclipse Visible Oct. 8th

Total Lunar Eclipse 02/20/2008
Total Lunar Eclipse 02/20/2008

Early on the morning of Wednesday, October 8, 2014 there will be a total lunar eclipse visible for all of the United States. Totality begins at 5:25 a.m. CDT locally here in the DFW area. The moon will be seen (weather permitting)  low in the sky on the western horizon. Seek out a good observing location where you will have an unobstructed view of the horizon.  The Moon will be an awesome sight even from the most light polluted cities. Observers on the West Coast are better positioned for this eclipse as the moon will be higher in the sky as totality slowly plays out between 3:25 a.m. and 4:24 a.m. PDT.

Continue reading Total Lunar Eclipse Visible Oct. 8th →

SAP Site

Online Astronomy Resources

I recently added a new “Online Resources” tab and dedicated page on this web site to specifically highlight astronomy related information, documentation, charts, data sets, educational materials, lecture series and more. This information, as you might suspect, is geared to the novice or budding amateur astronomer and serves as a kind of repository for interesting but functional resources that I find myself returning to. Others are simply resources that I feel could be useful to those with a hunger to learn about and explore all things astronomy.

Continue reading Online Astronomy Resources →

Current amateur astronomy information such as points of interest and events in the night sky, star party dates, educational information, telescopes buying tips and much more.